Species: Elaeocarpus hainanensis

English Name: Hainan Elaeocarpus

Chinese Name: 水石榕

Family: Elaeocarpaceae

Description:
Shrubs or small trees, to 5 m tall. Branchlets glabrous or nearly so. Leaves clustered at twig apices; petiole 1-2 cm; leaf blade narrowly lanceolate, oblanceolate, or narrowly oblong, (4-)7-15(-18) × 1.5-3(-3.5) cm, papery, abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous or slightly pubescent on midvein only, lateral veins 14-30 per side, prominent on both surfaces, veinlets slightly prominent adaxially, base cuneate and tapered toward end, decurrent, margin denticulate, apex acuminate. Racemes in axils of current leaves, 5-8 cm, 2-6-flowered in upper part; peduncles puberulent, glabrescent. Pedicel 2-5 cm, puberulent; bracts sessile, persistent, leaflike, ovate or elliptic, 1-1.6 × 0.7-1 cm, veins and veinlets conspicuous, margin dentate, base rounded or auriculate. Flowers 3-4 cm in diam. Calyx lobes 5, lanceolate, 1.2-2 cm, abaxially puberulent, pubescent on midvein and upper 1/2 only. Petals 5, white, ca. as long as sepals, obovate, ciliate along margin, abaxially densely rust-colored yellow tomentose at base, adaxially tomentose, apex laciniate; lobes 30-46, 4-6 mm. Stamens 63-75, ca. as long as petals, puberulent; anthers with awn ca. 4 mm. Disk multi-lobed, tomentose. Ovary 2-loculed, glabrous or nearly so; ovules 2 per locule; style ca. 1 cm, pubescent in lower 1/2. Drupe spindle-shaped, 4-5 cm, ca. 1.2 cm in diam., both ends acuminate; endocarp hard, lacunose, 1-loculed. Seeds ca. 2 cm. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Jul-Sep.

Photos used under a Creative Commons license

References:

– Wu ZY, Raven PH, Hong DY (eds) (2007). Flora of China, Volume 12: Hippocastanaceae through Theaceae. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Bot Garden Press, St. Louis